Stealing rhinoceros heads, a new trend in France and Belgium?

Last Saturday, a stuffed rhino head was stolen from the Museum of Natural History in Blois. The piece weighs approximately one hundred kilograms and dates from the 19th century. The burglars dragged it across the floor before putting it in a van and fleeing the crime scene.

This is not the first theft of a rhino horn, as a series of similiar incidents has occurred in France and Belgium over the past few months. Other rhino heads have been taken in Rouen, Liège and Brussels. The previous incident took place at the Museum of Natural History in Brussels.

Investigations are in progress and the authorities take this very seriously, since an important international syndicate could be behind the burglaries. The number of black rhinoceroses went from 70,000 in the late sixties to 2,410 in 1995. This protected species is popular in countries like China as their horns are thought to be aphrodisiacs.